Katamari iPhone Game Is Here; It's Awesome

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Katamari iPhone Game Is Here; It's Awesome

A few days ago, Bandai rolled out an iPhone version of its popular puzzle-action game I Love Katamari. We had some time to give the mobile game a whirl, and it gets a bit choppy at times, but it's still damn addictive and fun.

The iPhone game has the same layout as the original PlayStation 2 release:You take on the role of a puny alien prince who pushes around a ball, called a Katamari, collecting objects (e.g., paper clips, No. 2pencils, etc.) in a room. The more stuff you roll up, the larger theKatamari gets, and it can just keep rolling up bigger and bigger items(to the point where you can roll up entire cities – and even islands).

Here's what makes the iPhone game awesome: By tilting around the handset, you use the accelerometer to move around the ball; a few swipes on the touchscreen performs a speed roll. That's way more fun – and easy – than using the PS2's dual analog sticks to control the Katamari.

The graphics don't look as great as Katamari on PS2, but they've got the same cute, colorful aesthetic. Visually, it's still an enjoyable experience.

Of course, there are some compromises. You're going to be tilting around the screen a lot, and at times it'll be hard to see what you're doing.And the bigger the Katamari gets, the more the frame rate drops.

But can you expect all that much from an iPhone game? True, Apple is trying to market the iPhone as a serious portable gaming device, but the popular smartphone still has much to prove in the game industry. I think for the time being, we can all accept the few flaws and just enjoy that *Katamari *is on the iPhone in the first place – and it's very playable, fun and worth the $8.